Video: How do I create a direct connection between a computer and a APC networked enabled product?

Published date:
22 October 2019

Issue
How do I create a direct or one to one connection between a computer and a APC networked enabled product?

Product Line

Any network enabled Schneider Electric devices including but not limited to:

Network Management Cards (NMC/NMC2)

Rack Power Distribution Products (PDU, ATS)

KVM Switches

NetBotz

StruxureWare Data Center Expert Hardware Appliance

Environment

Situations where it may be necessary to rule out a network problem and directly connect via Ethernet to a device

Situations where it may be necessary to directly connect to a device for access when a networking device such as a hub, switch, or router is unavailable to facilitate a network connection

Environments where a PC or Mac with available wired Ethernet port is available

Cause

You may run into a scenario in which you or a user believes the Network Management Card (or any other network enabled device) is faulty because it cannot be reached it through the particular network. This is typically a configuration issue or problem with the network. If there are lights on the NMC (or the particular device's) network jack, it is very likely the card itself is operating. Because troubleshooting a customer network issue is typically outside the scope of Schneider Electric technical support, it is technical support's prerogative to prove the Schneider Electric device is functional. We can do this by creating a direct connection between the a user's computer and the NMC (or other device type), which eliminates the particular network as a variable in most, if not all, scenarios. Essentially, we are creating a mini network between the computer and the NMC (or other networked device).

Furthermore, these instructions can be helpful for obtaining logs or data from the network interface of a device if a typical network connection via a hub, switch, or router is unavailable.

Please refer to the instructions below in order to sit up the mini network.

Steps:
(This example will refer to a Network Management Card (NMC) but the steps are the same for any networked device for the most part).

Set the IP address of the NMC to a non-routable network address. For our purposes, we will use 192.168.1.2

Set a Subnet mask of 255.255.255.0

Set the default gateway of the NMC as the IP address of the computer. For our purposes we will use 192.168.1.3

Configure a static IP on the computer in the same network. (In a Windows environment this is typically located under control panel > network connections > Local Area Connection.)

Choose properties, scroll down to TCP/IP and choose properties

Click the radio box for "Use the following IP address" and enter the IP information. For our example, enter:

IP: 192.168.1.3

Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

Default gateway: 192.168.1.2 (which is the IP address of the NMC)

Click Ok, then close. The computer will take a second to cycle its network interface to take the new IP settings. Connect the crossover (or straight through, in the case of gigabit) cable.
After completing the above configuration, for our example, we are having the APC device look at the computer as its default gateway and having the computer look at the APC device as its default gateway. In a customer scenario, this should hold true, no matter what IP address scheme they choose to use.

From the computer, you should now be able to ping the IP of the NMC, in our case 192.168.1.2. You can also access telnet or the web interface. This is proof that the NMC's interface is accessible.

Remember that the computer's IP settings will likely need to be reconfigured again to regain normal network communications after testing.

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